The Hindu Business Line : Pimples? Just call an Agony Aunt

CHUBBY (or was it rosy?) cheeks, dimpled chin ... You probably can't acquire a dimple on your chin now unless you have cosmetic surgery, but cheeks bursting with health are not far off, as this helpline would have you believe. Bright red hoardings advertising a 24-hour helpline for pimples dot Chennai's landscape. A call to the number mentioned on the hoarding reveals that the solution to all those angry red pimples that are the bane of adolescence could lie in Medimix Tejaswini skin care capsules.

The Cholayil group, which owns the brand, says this toll-free helpline is not so much a business venture as it is a centre for creating awareness and dispensing advice. Mr K.H.S. Manian, Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), told Business Line that the helpline hoped to help people overcome reservations about taking oral medication for pimples and acne. External application of creams and lotions was the preferred mode of treatment but taken internally, Tejaswini ayurvedic capsules would purify the blood and cleanse the digestive system of flaws that led to acne, he explained.

Oral medicine for pimples was a concept rather new to India. Safi was the only other oral medication that claimed to purify blood but Tejaswini had the added advantage of doing the digestive system good and it also came in capsule form, which was more convenient than the liquid Safi, Mr Manian stated.

The helpline will not only assure anxious teenagers that pimples are not a disease and a common problem at their age, it will also offer advice on diet, skin care and other precautions necessary for good skin. Extreme cases are referred to a doctor who is on the advisory panel, he said.

The company has not revealed its name on the hoardings, as it wants to evoke some curiosity. "Also, once the company/brand name is mentioned, it becomes a business venture and there is no further interest on the consumer's part. This is an initiative totally from the health perspective," asserts Mr Manian. Over time, the helpline will also deal with other skin ailments, he added.

Medimix is also delivering Tejaswini capsules at no extra charge to those who order them over the phone. It has so far sold 160 packs. The helpline was also a good way to generate word-of-mouth publicity for the brand, he added.

Mr Manian said they were considering extending this service to Bangalore, Hyderabad and other metros where toll-free numbers could be operated.

Tejaswini skin care capsules have been in the market for two years now. They are available all over South India and are being test-marketed in Punjab.

More calls from men

Curiously,the helpline, which is over a month old, has got some 3,000 calls, mostly from those in the age group of 16-24, and mostly from males! Mr Manian says some of them could be brothers calling up for their sisters who might be uncomfortable discussing acne over the phone but adds that the fact remains that the majority are males. Some more proof that men are as vain, then, as women. Tales of how men furtively use fairness creams and read women's magazines are legion. While pimple creams have featured men in their advertising earlier, they have more or less been on the sidelines. Can focused advertising help a huge market come out of the closet?

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